CALABAR, NIGERIA — The Cross River State Government has officially relaunched the formal sector of its health insurance scheme, making enrolment compulsory for all public and civil servants across the state as part of a broader push to achieve universal health coverage.
The programme, implemented through the Cross River State Health Insurance Agency, requires every civil servant to contribute N1,000 monthly, which covers not only the worker but also their spouse and children under 18. However, officials clarified that active coverage only begins after registration, biometric capture, and empanelment to a designated health facility .
Speaking at the relaunch ceremony in Calabar, the Director-General of CRSHIA, Dr Godwin Iyala, commended the Head of Service for his “special interest” in ensuring the scheme’s success. “Let me start by commending the Head of Service who has shown and demonstrated a very special interest to ensure that we succeed in our onerous task of bringing not just the civil servants or public servants of Cross River State onto the scheme, but all residents of the state,” Iyala said .
The scheme currently covers approximately 17,000 civil servants, though officials noted that this represents less than half of the total workforce. To boost enrolment, the agency has established new registration points at the Head of Service’s office, the Ministry of Health’s Old Secretariat, and the agency’s office along the Marian axis in Calabar .
Enforcement measures are already taking shape. The Head of Service, Hon Orok Bassey, announced that proof of enrolment would now be required to access key services. “Going forward, if you come to Civil Service Commission for Promotion Interview, you have to show your health insurance enrollment card. If you come to Head of Service to stamp loan form, you have to show your health insurance enrollment card. If you don’t have your enrollment card, don’t go to look for promotion implementation,” Bassey stated .
The relaunch follows a successful pilot phase that demonstrated the scheme’s impact. Senior Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on Universal Health Coverage, Dr David Oshie, recounted how a director in the civil service received free treatment at the General Hospital after the agency intervened. “From that moment till days before he was discharged, he didn’t pay one naira extra,” Oshie said .
Cross River has already gained national recognition for its health insurance efforts. Oshie disclosed that the state was acknowledged by the Federal Ministry of Health in 2025 as the first state with a functional Universal Health Coverage Coordination Center .
The State Coordinator of the National Health Insurance Authority, Stanley Effa, described the initiative as a sustainable pathway to quality medical care, noting that it would reduce the financial burden of medical treatment and improve workforce productivity .
Governor Bassey Otu and his wife, Dr Eyoanwan Otu, have personally supported the programme. The First Lady has enrolled 600 elderly persons for two years, while the Deputy Governor enrolled 1,000 vulnerable persons in Ogoja Local Government Area .
The agency is expanding coverage to include students through the Tertiary Institutions Social Health Insurance Programme. Officials confirmed that all general hospitals have been integrated into the scheme alongside 196 primary healthcare facilities, one per ward across the state . With digitalisation already implemented and a monitoring framework in place, the government is targeting 150,000 enrollees by the end of 2026.
